1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer information gathering and processing systems, and more particularly to a computer-based system and method for performing real-time educational assessments.
2. Related Art
In today's technological environment, many advances have been made in the fields of software and computing. More specifically, the advent of smaller, faster and more powerful laptops, mobile computing devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the like, along with the increasing accessibility of the global, public Internet, have transformed how people work, play and learn. Likewise, new software applications for these advanced computing devices have been developed which allow people to become more efficient and productive in almost every aspect—whether it be in business or personal—of daily life. These advances have combined to make present society less of a paper culture and more of an electronic (digital) culture.
The above-mentioned advances, however, have not touched every aspect of present day life. That is, some tasks or processes are still done using “pen and paper.” One example of this is the elementary school assessment process which is still primarily a paper process.
Classroom assessments are used by teachers as a powerful tool for improving student achievement. This is because classroom assessments can help teachers plan future lesson plans, adjust learning goals for particular students, and allows teachers to provide more frequent feedback to students about how to improve and actively engages students in their own learning. Using assessments allows teachers to adjust their lesson plans accordingly, thus resulting in higher student achievement. The administration and reporting of these assessments are often mandated by individual schools, school districts or state-wide departments of education.
The method by which teachers observe and assess student's skills and progress in a particular subject has not changed much over the past few decades and thus, has not benefitted from the above-described advances in the fields of software and computing. For example, in the area of reading and literacy, teachers often administer (paper) assessments to observe and assess student's reading skills and measure progress. One such assessment is known as the “running record” as described in Marie M. Clay, “An Observation Survey: Of Early Literacy Achievement,” ISBN: 0435087630 (Heinemann 1993) [hereinafter “Clay”], which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The running record, as described in Clay, utilizes a system of coding, scoring, analysis and use of running record paper sheets and has been used in educational systems worldwide as a way of observing children's progress in the early years of learning about literacy and determining which children need supplementary teaching.
For all its benefits, the paper running records add to the already significant amount of paperwork which teachers must perform. That is, teachers, for each student, must prepare the records before administering the assessments and record scores and comments during the assessment, and keep the records for later analysis and generating reports. This is in addition to other paper work—such as progress reports, report cards, lesson plans and the like—which teachers must already perform. Thus, there has been a general need for tools to help teachers manage, minimize of ease the burden of paperwork and more specifically, the burden of paperwork with respect to (oftentimes, mandatory) educational assessments.
Therefore, given the above, what is needed is a system, method and computer program product for real-time observation assessment, designed for educators, that takes advantage of handheld computers, desktop/laptop computers and the increasing presence of Internet access in order to reduce the paperwork associated with conventional educational assessments.